This blog revolves around the dual concepts of “Reality” and “Illusion”. In the post 9/11 world it can be difficult to distinguish between reality and illusion as facts are altered and new pseudo-realities are created. In 2002 a White House aide said: “We’re an empire now and when we act we create our own reality. And while you’re studying that reality we’ll act again, creating other new realities.”
There is also the ultimate Reality - alluded to in the very first post of this blog.

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Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Terrorising Pakistan

A conspiracy of silence.

Already this year there have been five deadly attacks in Pakistani cities resulting in the deaths of hundreds of innocent Pakistanis. The most recent act of savagery occurred on 9 July in Mohmand in the North West of Pakistan, close to the border with Afghanistan, when over 100 ordinary citizens lost their lives and some 200 were injured (see Tailpiece for a full list of attacks since 2007). This crude suicide attack is clearly the work of “Pakistani Taliban”. Other attacks, requiring considerable planning and a degree of sophistication, point to an altogether more sinister and better organised presence in Pakistan.

The head of Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence, Lt. Gen. Ahmed Shuja Pasha, gave a briefing to the Parliamentary Committee on National Security last week, which told a tale of foreign intrigue and sinister collaboration between an ostensible “friend” and a sworn enemy of Pakistan. The complicity of foreign states in the sort of terrorist activity that we have previously witnessed in Iraq and Afghanistan has been an open secret for a long time. It is good to see someone in authority acknowledging it at last. But we need to go further and shout the reality underlying terrorism in Pakistan from the rooftops – speak up boldly at international forums and provide the incriminating evidence, though it will inevitably incur the wrath of the USA.

In Pakistan itself a strange silence hangs over the country. Save for a few brave souls in Pakistan’s journalistic community, and some outspoken politicians such as Imran Khan, people who occupy influential positions in Pakistani society have either sealed their lips or they deflect all suspicion on to Pakistani Taliban, shielding the stars of this macabre drama of murder and intrigue. Many of Pakistan’s top politicians and functionaries are neck deep in corruption and various fraudulent acts, which makes them susceptible to blackmail. Others are bought off with a combination of monetary bribes and threats of violence. Generally, there is little honest attempt at analysing Pakistan’s complex, rapidly changing situation and relating it to preceding events.

Separating reality from illusion

Let us take the three most recent attacks to see if there is a pattern we can observe.

1. The massacre of Ahmadis in Lahore

On 28 May a group of people attacked two mosques belonging to the Ahmadi community at a time when they were overflowing on the occasion of Friday prayers. Some 90 members of the congregation died and as many as a hundred were injured. Immediately, Pakistan’s westernised “intellectuals”, with pockets and hand bags bulging to bursting point with wads of American dollars, declared that the attack amounted to inhuman persecution of the Ahmadi community, blah blah blah. That the Ahmadis are indeed a persecuted minority in Pakistan is a well known fact but linking a terrorist attack to such persecution showed that a conscious attempt was afoot to deceive Pakistanis about the origin of the terror unleashed on them. As you can see from the Tailpiece, this attack was simply one of a series intended to terrorise and destabilise Pakistani society. My own response to this atrocity was given in my blog post Self destruction of Pakistan, and in comments elsewhere:

“……… please remember that the tragic loss of life on Black Friday was not the result of sectarian violence. It was an attack by sub-human creatures who had previously murdered Pakistanis of all religious denominations.

The situation in Pakistan is so warped at the moment that it is difficult to understand what is going on. The horror story that is being acted out on the vast Pakistani stage can be witnessed by all but the hands directing this nightmarish scene are hidden from view. Hence the preponderance of what some people have termed "conspiracy theories", a most unfortunate term that discourages people from uncovering the ugly truth.

At several blogs run by Pakistan's self-styled "liberals" this tragedy has been used as a ploy to divert attention away from other issues of great national importance. I have felt sickened by the hypocritical public chest beating of these liberals, some of whom clearly have ulterior motives. What conclusion can you draw when people start suggesting that Pakistanis should focus only on their internal sectarian problems - on this occasion, at least, it is NOT a case of sectarian violence - and stay away from protesting against Israel's murder of Turkish citizens taking relief supplies to Gaza!”

2. The massacre at the shrine of Ali Hajveri, “Data Ganj Bakhsh”, Lahore

This occurred on Thursday night, 1 July, when the shrine was full of devotees of the saint. A single suicide bomber killed himself and some 45 others, and some 200 people were injured. There have been reports of suspicious foreigners taking photographs of the Data Darbar shrine some days before the suicide attack.

Once again, the westernised chattering classes of Pakistan have had a field day, talking loudly about religious intolerance and sectarian strife. Very cleverly, two new phrases ‘religious intolerance’ and ‘sectarian violence’ have replaced ‘religious persecution’ this time. As before, the real culprit behind the wicked deed is cleverly covered up.

There seems little doubt that there is a conspiracy to refuse to analyse and investigate each deadly act of violence and to draw appropriate conclusions. This, in my opinion, shows the extent to which the USA agencies have managed to deflect suspicion away from their own anti-Pakistan activities towards the dormant cancer of sectarian hatred that blights Pakistani society.

Close to the Pak-Afghan border, this is an area where “Pakistani Taliban” - an organisation which owes its birth to American patronage - had earlier been defeated by the Pakistan army and they had escaped further north. The army had declared the area to be safe from Taliban and the government was asked to arrange for the return of people who had been displaced by the fighting. The government responded by telling the people to return but it made no effort to establish a viable civic administration to offer security to people going back to their ruined towns.

On 9 July the unfortunate souls awaiting re-settlement were mercilessly cut down by two suicide bombers, in a car and on a motorbike. Over a hundred people died and some 200 sustained horrible injuries. This attack was launched by Pakistani Taliban as a revenge for their earlier defeat.

The hands of the murderers

There are three distinct pairs of hands:

1. The Pakistani Taliban, who carry out atrocities in places like Mohmand. They are an obvious target, and they are being pursued relentlessly by the Pakistan army.

2. Pakistan’s avowed enemy India, which has been given a free hand by our treacherous friend in Afghanistan, the mighty USA. The Indian influence in Afghanistan is massive – Indians are said to work closely with Afghanistan’s “Northern Alliance” and with the Israeli experts in urban terrorism. To understand it fully requires a separate article – suffice it to say that India, which forcibly occupies Kashmir by stationing a huge army there numbering 700,000, is delighted to help the USA destabilise Pakistan. The Indians in Afghanistan finance, train and provide sophisticated weapons to mercenaries and Taliban, who are then sent over the Pak-Afghan border to attack pre-determined targets. The USA, which is supposed to maintain high tech surveillance of the long Pak-Afghan border, is a willing accomplice in these dastardly terrorist operations.

3. The vast presence of the USA operatives, contractors and mercenaries in Pakistan (CIA agents and those belonging to Dynacorp and Blackwater/Xe Services). It is these who are suspected of planning and executing attacks in the large cities such as Lahore and Rawalpindi.

A historical perspective

What we have to ask is: who will benefit from the spread of terror and insecurity in Pakistan? Pakistan's descent into hell has been preceded by similar experiences in two places: Iraq and Afghanistan. What is the common factor between them? You don't need rocket science to work that out - all you need is simple common sense and some basic honesty.

The USA government is adept at launching “false flag” operations. An utterly obscene example of this “art” was the staged farce of 9/11, which was promptly linked to backward Afghanistan though no evidence has ever been produced, then or since. To deceive the world about the 9/11 outrage, the USA government destroyed all evidence of that heinous crime against humanity. They then spun a weird tale which defied the facts and gave rise to a whole industry devoted to unearthing the truth about 9/11.

The Americans swung their formidable propaganda machine into action, responding to all criticism by rubbishing it as “conspiracy theories”. In 2002, when the USA appeared to have Afghanistan in the palm of its hand, George Bush’s White House aide spoke the chilling words which revealed the real intentions of the neoconservatives surrounding Bush:

“We’re an empire now, and when we act we create our own reality. And while you’re studying that reality – judiciously, as you will – we’ll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that’s how things will sort out. We’re history’s actors …. and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do.”

Since then the USA’s “false flag” operations have multiplied. Iraq is a good example, where the targeted killings of Shias were used to inflame passions against the Sunnis, and vice versa. The internecine violence weakened the Resistance against the occupiers and the USA government claimed a pyrrhic victory. The architect of that strategy, General David Petraeus, is now trying out his evil schemes in Pakistan. He is clever enough to recognise that, unlike Iraq, Pakistan has a free press and he has to muzzle journalists by bribing them heavily.

Remember that Americans are roaming all over Pakistan, among them Urdu and Pashto speaking “contractors” and CIA agents. A compliant Pakistani government, installed by the Americans under a false façade of “democracy”, issues visas freely to Americans in accordance with the demands it receives from the USA government.

Though Pakistan is not a desperately poor country, the lack of governance and general mismanagement of the country’s resources, have produced a perilous situation where families routinely suffer starvation and dishonour. It is not uncommon to hear of whole families committing suicide. There is thus a vast pool of people from which the sinister foreign presence in the country can recruit willing suicide bombers.

The ugly reality

Let us learn to think critically: what you see may only be an illusion, hiding an ugly reality underneath.

That ugly reality behind the attempts to terrorise the civilian population of Pakistan is the increasing USA pressure on Pakistan to send its troops into North Waziristan and attack the Afghan Resistance to USA occupation from the Pakistani side of the Pak-Afghan border. Since an action in North Waziristan will trigger a civil war in Pakistan, a second aim is to destabilise Pakistan and to weaken its army, which will enable the USA totake possession of Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal, and India to gobble up Kashmir (where India's occupation army has gunned down 17 youths recently).

The Americans have been in Afghanistan nearly 9 years and, by all accounts, they are staring defeat in the face. To put things in perspective the number of Americans who have died in this totally unnecessary conflict stands at a little over 1000 while the Nato forces have probably suffered under a thousand casualties. To the Americans these are very high figures and they are putting pressure on Pakistan to get its army to do the fighting for them. Pakistani lives, it seems, are dirt cheap when it comes to achieving the evil designs of USA politicians, who do not acknowledge that Pakistan army’s loss so far is several times that of USA’s.

Pakistan’s servile obedience to the USA’s war aims has resulted in the loss of thousands of our soldiers and our citizens, and it has brought us close to financial ruin. Having lost so much already as a “friend” of the USA, what more is there for us to lose? Let us, for once, sample the blessings that will ensue from breaking that bond of enforced friendship.

Tailpiece

The following is a list of major attacks since July 2007 [source: The Nation, 9 July, 2010]:

2007

July 19: Three suicide attacks in the northwest of the country kill 54 people, including more than 20 soldiers and police officers.

October 18: Bomb attacks targeting two-time former premier Benazir Bhutto kill at least 139 people in Karachi, just hours after she returned to Pakistan for the first time in eight years. She survives unhurt, but is killed along with around 20 people in another gun and suicide attack on December 27.

December 21: At least 56 are killed in an attack on a mosque in the northwest of the country.

2008

August 21: Twin suicide attacks kill at least 64 people outside Pakistan's main arms factory in Wah, near Islamabad.

September 20: At least 60 people are killed when a suicide attacker rams a massive truck bomb into the gates of the five-star Marriott hotel in Islamabad.

Thanks very much for your kind words. The fortitude that your noble family has shown against the loathsome acts of the state agencies is an inspiration to all decent Pakistanis.

Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha's recent briefing makes me wonder if a change is imminent at ISI. Will the leadership move away from a servile relationship with the Americans, stop harassing Pakistan's citizens and concentrate on protecting the country from the menace of terrorism wherever it comes from?

@Zainab:

The "rise in militancy" is a well planned conspiracy as I have tried to explain. An article was published in 'The Nation' today which makes very similar points to those I have made above. As a nation we need to wake up and learn to recognise those hell-bent on harming us. Here is the link to the article "Not just terrorism":

I tried to preach and sermonise in my earlier comment. I realised my folly because you are one of those sick and evil minded guys who believe that 9/11, 26/11 were staged managed. People like you are not even fit to be kept in lunatic asylums, but in Gitmo like camps. No - deserve to be shot.

There is a gentleman who wears the mask of "Pakistan's Nemesis" - he is consumed with burning hatred for all Pakistanis. The kind of comments he likes to spew out can be seen from the example above.

Everyone, irrespective of what opinions he/she holds, is welcome to comment at my blog provided the comments are based on facts and are well argued. Ignorance breeds blind prejudice which destroys all that is beautiful in human nature.

Al-Qur'an teaches us that all humanity is ONE community and we should all live in harmony and show tolerance towards each other. This blog only criticises governments and powerful vested interests or named individuals. The Pakistan government, its military and its secret agencies are just as heavily criticised as the machinations of the USA and Indian governments.

We must seek justice for the whole of mankind - the sentiment "my country right or wrong" is an evil slogan, which makes us follow the plots of deceitful politicians under the mistaken impression that we are being "patriotic".

To the masked "Pakistan's Nemesis": brother, 9/11 was staged but NOT 26/11 - remember the UK is very dissimilar to the USA. Please do try to learn the truth about 9/11 - there is abundant information on the internet and in book form. Just ask yourself one simple question: why did the Bush administration quickly destroy the evidence after the tragedy?

Pakistanis will get back what they themselves preach. If Pak preaches hatered of the West and India, then people will like me will do the same. Pak school syllabus contains so much of hatred directed against India and other so-called infidels that it is impossible for any Paki to have any love or respect for an Indian or a Westerner.

As far as the Quranic teaching is concerned, please ask your Taliban/ Wahabbi/Salafi/Ahle Hadith friends for the intepretation. Today your religion is the most distorted, thanks to an Islamised Pak society subscribing to one or the other extreme forms of Islam mentioned above. Can you get your fellow countrymen to shun this distortion and get back to the path of righteousness? The answer is NO.

There is an element of truth in what you say. I am one of those who think we need a nation-wide struggle against our priest class. You might like to read the following blog posts on the subject of Islam:

No. I was referring to 26/11 Mumbai which was perpetrated by LeT in which several Jews and nationals from Western countries were killed. Pak media extensively reported this to be a conspiracy hatched by Zionists and Indian intelligence. The uncovering of the plot that followed later is only too well known.

I am not against clerics or the priestly class as a whole. There are religious scholars (whose voices are rarely heard) who preach tolerance, peace, etc. Maulana Wahiduddin Khan is one such example. I am against only those who distort religion and use it to preach hatred and violence.

Thanks for your comments on the Mumbai atrocity. You say, “The uncovering of the plot that followed later is only too well known”. Can you elaborate on that?

I understand that the evidence relating to the crime that the Indian government has presented to the Pakistani government consists of “dossiers” based on Ajmal Kassab’s confession under interrogation by the Indian police. Access to Ajmal Kassab has been denied to the Pakistani authorities. The Pakistani courts have declared the evidence inadmissible because of the possibility of having extracted the confession under torture. Can you tell me the nature of the evidence that the Indian police had presented in the Indian court that tried and sentenced Ajmal Kassab?

I would also like to know your take on the death of Inspector Hemant Karkare, the Anti-Terrorism Squad chief, who was killed on 26 November 2008. His widow, Kavita, has made some pretty serious allegations. Also, a former inspector general of police in Maharashtra, S M Mushrif, has written a book “Who killed Karkare? – The real face of terrorism in India”, which deals with the “conspiracy behind the murder of Hemant Karkare”. I have not read the book but I would like to know what you think of Mushrif’s revelations

It is a sorry state of affairs. I am not sure whether Pak mind-set or Pak's biased media has to be blamed for this. If confessions were the only means to solve crimes, almost all terror-related crimes and terror suspects would well have been sentenced.

There have been technical evidence like GPS data, telephone and VoIP intercepts which have helped the investigators and the Court to arrive at the conclusion that Pak hand was directly behind the attack in Mumbai. Access to Kasab would probably have been denied considering the fact that Pakistani authorities denied that Kasab was a Pak citizen in the first place. It was your own Geo TV which uncovered Kasab's Pak connections. Secondly, have Pak authorities given access to India for interrogating Lakhvi, Zarar Shah and others? NO

@ Karkare's killingDo you know Mushrif's background and antecedents Mr Sakib? Mushrif was charged with corruption and was to be arrested. Political bigwigs intervened to bail him out. He was given a honourable exit by making him resign. This frustrated individual had an axe to grind. And 26/11 presented him with the opportunity. Had he been arrested he would probably have been the highest ranking officer at that time to be charged with corruption. Merely because one loony decides to raise some doubts, is it evidence that Hindu terrorists (as some media reports in your home country has put it) could have located Karkare in the melee and killed him? This is his credibility. Because India happens to be a true democracy, jokers like Mushrif can get away with such rubbish.

Yes there has been corruption in the purchase of arms, bullet-proof vests, etc and Karkare's widow is right in making the allegations. But that does not in any way reduce Pak's role (read ISI) and culpability in this whole episode.

I may not claim to know everything about 26/11. But I certainly know the facts as it unfolded.

It seems you do not know that the Pakistan government had been putting pressure on the courts to convict Hafiz Saeed and others. In the past it would have worked and India would have got what it desired. Not any more – the Judiciary now is independent of the Executive. The evidence presented to Pakistani courts was rejected as not meeting the normal standards of acceptability.

I cannot comment on the evidence that was presented to the Indian court. All I can say is if the same evidence had been handed over to Pakistan then it was not considered credible by our courts.

It is true that the knee-jerk reaction of Pakistan’s government was to deny that Ajmal Kassab was a Pakistani. However, once inquiries had been made the government quickly changed its stance. You are not being honest when you suggest that the reason India has not given Pakistan access to Kassab is because Pakistan denies that Kassab is a Pakistani citizen. It is widely believed that the real reason is to do with the way a confession was extracted from Kassab, which incriminated other individuals and bodies. The Pakistani authorities need to interview Kassab before they can prepare a case to indict any of those individuals or bodies.

Do you see now why Hafiz Saeed, Lakhvi, etc must go free? India has to stop its empty propaganda and present solid evidence and witnesses. Without providing that evidence it is silly of Indians to expect to be given permission to interrogate free citizens of another state. No self-respecting court would allow that. As far as credible witnesses are concerned, India has only one, who is being held away from contact with independent investigators!

The Mumbai tragedy looks more and more like a John Le Carre novel. I do not know what the underlying truth is. I suspect India knows but it is not so much interested in the truth as blackening the name of Pakistan.

I am surprised by your comments on S M Mushrif – what sources have you based your accusations on? Mushrif is considered to have had a distinguished career. He and Karkare appear to have played important roles in exposing the Hindu terrorism. Karkare paid for this impertinence with his life. You can read about Mushrif here: http://whokilledkarkare.com/content/sm-mushrif-0

I note that you have conveniently glossed over the Samjhota Express atrocity. Why?

I gave you three links in my previous comments, the first of which deals at considerable length with Hindu terrorism and its “false flag” operations to place the blame on Muslims. Please rise above your prejudices and see the world as it really is. Yes, there is what you might describe as “Muslim terrorism”; equally, there is “Hindu terrorism”, which is just as hideous. Do you have the moral strength to acknowledge it?

Firstly, I will deal extensively with the terrorist attack on Samjohta Express (which you refer to as atrocity) later. Strangely the Mumbai attacks (and conspiracy) seems to you and many Pakistanis as a John Le Carre novel. Though you are not in the know of many things, yet the insinuation is Pakistan has been wrongly targetted.

@SM Mushrif: It is not necessary or important as to what or who my sources are for levelling this accusation against Mushrif. When I make a statement, it is with some authority and not on the basis of information available on the internet and in public domain. I have had brief interactions with late Karkare and Kamte, both of whom were fine officers. This very stupid and figment of imagination theory that Karkare was killed by so-called Hindu terrorists can come from only idiots like Mushrif and Antulay (another insignificant corrupt politician)

You have given reasons for setting free the likes of Hafeez Saeed, while reiterating that access of Kasab has been denied. Conveniently, you have, like the Pak establishment chosen not to answer why India has not been given access to Pak terror suspects involved in Mumbai 26/11. Pak has been in a state of denial and will continue to do so under the present politico-military dispensation.

Please remember that the conspiracy for Mumbai was hatched in Pakistan, (notwithstanding Pak denial-Pak simply refuses to see reason) and executed in Mumbai. The evidence relating to the conspiracy will have to be collected in Pak either by Pak investigators or Indian investigators (both of which is impossible given Pakistan's intransigence. Pak also does not consider as evidence telecom intercepts and GPS data. WHAT DOES PAK WANT WHICH CAN BE CALLED AND RECOGNISED AS EVIDENCE? OR IT CONSIDERS ITS ALLEGATIONS AGAINST INDIA AND DENIALS AS EVIDENCE?

At the cost of repetition, courts in a democratic country do not convict a suspect merely on confessions. Pak used to be part of the Commonwealth with similar set of laws. Maybe today, whatever the military dictates may be the law. Apart from confessions, the prosecution must have corroborative evidence before the Court convicts an accused.

Having said that the world believes that the court process in Pakistan has been a sham. And the State's case was diluted on purpose to let LeT's amir off the hook. And none of us would be surprised if the others are also set free.

At the outset, I don't think any sane person can compare the Samjauhta bombing with Mumbai 26/11. The latter was not only colossal in magnitude but was a game-changer which forever altered the course of Indo-Pak relations. Let me assure you that as a Jew living in India, I and other Indians will neither forgive nor forget what has been perpetrated by terrorists from Pakistan. And it is increasingly evident that Pak military establishment in general and the ISI in particular played the most important role in its planning, training of the fedayeens and execution. We don't give a damn if Pak denies its role. The world certainly believes the culpability of the Pak state.

Considering Pakistan's policy of protecting terrorist groupd of various hues, why should India make any sincere efforts to nail the culprits involved in this terror act, especially if the trail leads to Hindus as has been alleged? And yet the government of the day has been working to put the criminals behind bars. In fact it is public knowledge that they are charged with terrorist crimes (unlike how Pak kept Hafeez (Let) as a guest under house arrest) and will be prosecuted.

As Pakistanis are prone to argue about root cause for kashmir and all other issues, let me tell you that Samjauhta was probably the back lash for terror being exported by Pak to India. It is for this reason why Pak is being urged to reign in terrorists. But somehow good sense seems to elude Pakistan.

Lastly, Pak has been involved in terrorism in various parts of India including kashmir for the last two decades. Why is it that all Pakistanis only raise questions about Samjauhta? The December 13 Parliament Attack was the handiwork of another saint from Pak called Masood Azhar (JeM), burning down of Charar-e-Sharief by Mast Gul, the attack on Akshardham Temple in Gujarat. The list is endless. Were these not atrocities? Or probably the ones who died in these incidents were not Pakistanis, so it does not really matter. Just another terror statistic!

If you an others like you have even some courage, moral or otherwise, voice your opinion before the two states reach a point of no return.

Please, please, I ask you again to lift yourself above the visceral hatred you feel for Pakistan and Pakistanis.

You claim to have some inside knowledge about Inspector General M S Munsif, which gives you the right to clamp on the charge of corruption on a man who has had, according to the information available in the public domain, a distinguished career. So you have a divine right to act as both judge and jury, and condemn people according to your whims?! Why should we believe you, a man who hides behind a mask?

Re. the killers of Karkare. It is the Indians themselves who have cast doubt on the story that the inspector and his colleagues were cut down by Kassab and his accomplice – but you consider those people “idiots” and their assessment as “stupid and figment of imagination”. Whatever you say!

Re. Hafiz Saeed. Lakhvi, Kassab, etc. I have patiently explained what the position is but you appear not to understand. Let me have another go.

At the moment Pakistan’s judiciary is under relentless attack from the government, and it faces stiff resistance from the army and the secret agencies. You can read about these issues here:

http://sakibahmad.blogspot.com/2010/02/case-of-missing-persons.html

http://sakibahmad.blogspot.com/2009/12/day-of-vampires.html

The judiciary has been under pressure from the discredited Pakistani government to produce a decision in accordance with the Indian and USA demands. Our judges have insisted on seeing credible evidence which would convict Saeed, Lakhvi, etc. Now these people may well be guilty but the manipulated evidence – presumably, “telecom intercepts and GPS data”, as you put it - that India has provided has been rejected. So, stop blaming the Pakistani government and the ISI, both of which are ranged against the Pakistani judiciary. Just find credible evidence which will stand up in a neutral court of law.

Another point you do not grasp is that you cannot just point at a citizen of a country and demand the right to interrogate him. Try doing that with a USA citizen. You will receive short shrift and you will be asked for a reasonable level of proof that the person you are accusing of a crime may not be entirely innocent.

The case of Kassab is entirely different from that of Saeed and Lakhvi. Pakistan has not accused Kassab of any crime but India has. According to India’s claim, Kassab has implicated other Pakistanis such as Saeed and Lakhvi. Therefore, it is entirely appropriate that Pakistan’s judiciary should want to see Kassab as a witness. If India refuses to comply then the obvious conclusion is that it has something to hide. Please understand that no respectable court in the world would convict Saeed, Lakhvi, etc on the basis of a piece of paper which is purported to represent a confession extracted from the accused. The court will want to see the WITNESS, not a piece of paper.

Your grudging acceptance of the Samjhota Express massacre being the work of Hindu terrorists is welcome. That is better than the abominable positions adopted by the hypocritical governments of the USA and India. You have provided links to websites which are quite mild. Other websites, including those I suggested, would condemn the Hindu terrorism more bluntly.

Do not forget that Samjhota Express was not an isolated incident – the Gujrat massacres were much worse. Unlike Pakistan, where the Taliban are loudly condemned and pursued, the Hindu terrorism has influential friends in positions of power.

You mention Kashmir but gloss over the brutalities of the most inhuman kind committed by a huge army of 700,000. In the past there might have been some justification for the army presence in view of the assistance provided by Azad Kashmiris and Pakistanis from across the Line of Control, and the activities of outright terrorists. Now that the cross-border movements have completely dried up, why are Kashmiris being suppressed and oppressed by that obscene military presence?

Pakistanis in particular and Muslims in general have an illusion that brutalities are perpetrated in Kashmir. This is typical propaganda stuff coming out of Pakistan and vested interests of Islamic countries. These very countries accuse Israel of massacre of Palestinians who are considered "very innocent". You probably follow only those media reports which suit you insofar as Kashmir is concerned. Please read reports of Pak violating cease-fire on virtually a daily basis and Indian forces engaging Islamic terrorists infiltrating from Pak on an equally regular basis. (http://news.rediff.com/report/2010/jul/21/pakistan-violates-ceasefire-yet-again.htm) In any case how many troops are stationed in Kashmir or in the North-East or on China border is India's internal affair and we do not wish to take any diktats from any quarter. Equally so, no Indian can question why a particular number of troops are deployed by Pakistan on its Western or Eastern borders.

What has been glossed over is it is Pak army which committed genocide on its own Bengali population in the '70s. So it is very easy to preach than practise. Even today, Pak military is out to wipe our Baluchi freedom fighters. (this is the counter to your accusation on Kashmir) Many leaders like Bugti were killed in cold blood. This slanging match will go on. The positions on Kashmir, terror are all hardened. Hence you see no progress can be made in improving Indo-Pak relations. It is a stalemate.

Comparing a bunch of hardcore Hindu fanatics (who can be counted on fingers) and Taliban is like comparing chalk and cheese. Taliban is the creation of Pakistan for its own interests in keeping jihad alive particularly to counter India and Indian interests in Afghanistan. Today experts talk about the "talibanisation" of Pak society which means from the man on the street to the high and mighty, there is unanimity in thinking that infidels have to be rooted out.

Why should India trust Pak and send Kasab to Pak as a witness or an accused? After all it is Pakistan which provided asylum to the hijackers as well as those released by India from its prison like JeM chief Masood Azhar during Indian Airlines aircraft hijack episode in 1999.

The reference to rejection of evidence only shows the seriousness of Pak intentions in addressing Indian concerns on terror. It is Pak policy to carry on exporting terror to India and the world. I doubt any evidence which will be taken cognisance of by courts of civilised nations will ever be accepted by the Pak courts. Nobody in India believes that Pak courts are independent when it comes to adjudicating terror-related offences, especially where India happens to be the victim. The public opinion in India is not to resume any dialogue with Pak as long as Pak continues to send terrorists into Kashmir.

Dear me, we don't seem to be getting anywhere! Your knowledge is either extremely limited or the deep-seated hatred you have for Pakistan and Pakistanis makes it impossible for you to acknowledge the truth.

As one who lives in the West my sources of knowledge are mostly western.

Re. Kashmir. Please refer to the reports of Amnesty International.

I have never denied the murderous forays of terrorists which took place in the past from the Azad Kashmir area into Indian-held Kashmir. In fact, I used to speak up against the killings of innocent Hindu families. As you will have realised by now I am no supporter of the inhuman acts of Pakistan's army and the ISI. It is you who can't remove the blinkers from your eyes to enable you to see the atrocities of India's army and RAW.

Kashmir is disputed territory, the whole world acknowledges it and it is referred to as such in the countless UN resolutions. Since when did it become India's "internal matter"?

Re. Israel/Palestinians. What Hitler did to the Jews, Israeli leadership is doing to the Palestinians. You might like to refer to Noam Chomsky and Robert Fisk.

What the Pakistan army did in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) has been comprehensively debated in Pakistan and it is still talked about. Pakistanis have felt ashamed and offered unconditional apologies to our Bangladeshi brothers and sisters. Again, you have made a statement which reveals your ignorance, I am afraid.

To a very large extent the general unrest, killings and acts of terrorism in Balochistan, Pakhtunkhwa and parts of Punjab are the work of RAW and CIA. Just ask yourself why India needs to have a heavy presence in Afghanistan, and think through the implications. I have covered this aspect fairly comprehensively in this blog post.

It is disingenuous of you to talk about 'a bunch of Hindu fanatics'. You can count them in millions and they have protection in high places. Know anything about the background of people like Bal Thakeray?

As my article explains, the TTP was the creation of CIA and the Americans protected Baitullah Mehsood for a long time. He was eliminated when the ISI exposed the web of intrigue involving TTP, CIA and RAW.

Your last two paragraphs show that my repeated attempts to explain to you the current political and judicial circumstances in Pakistan have had no effect whatsoever. If you would rather wallow in your ignorance, so be it. If the Indian public opinion is as you describe, then that is simply a reflection of the false propaganda against Pakistan and the poor quality of information available in India.

Your last paragraph is based on an outright lie: "It is Pak policy to carry on exporting terror to India and the world". It is the policy neither of the current government nor of Pakistan's army under General Kayani. It seems an impossible task to have a sensible discussion with a man as prejudiced as you are.

What you allege wildly as my ignorance is typical Pakistani mind-set and the Illusion (which incidentally happens to be part of the title of your blog) under which millions of Muslims live in. The reality as the world sees it is not acknowledged by Muslims the world over. Your accusation of prejudice again reveals the denial mode in which Pakistan is. Jihadi terrorism is an instrument of Pakistan's state policy. It will continue to be so as long as your society remains talibanised and the military is not sent to the barracks and does not confine itself to the role of being sentinels of the nation.

Murderous forays of terrorists Comment: Thanx a lot. But this is not a thing of the past. It has been going on since 1989. There is no use merely admitting to this fact.

Kashmir is disputed territory Comment: The Indian stand has always been that Kashmir has been an integral part of India and will continue to do so. If Pakis are under any illusion that borders of Kashmir are going to be re-drawn, they can forget about it. Kashmir has elected representatives, there is a rule of law in place and democratic institutions have taken roots. (Pak may say that elections are rigged and that only separatists are the voice of the people-a story nobody in the world is going to buy) Your Pak Army has done enough violations on regular basis across LOC, they have done it on a large scale unsuccessfully in the form of Kargil and the international community recognised India's right of self defence. (So this internal matter and disputed theory can well be debated in Pak and other OIC countries).

Why India needs to have a heavy presence in Afghanistan, and think through the implications. Comment: Who gives this impression about large Indian presence in Afghanistan? Obviously the ISI. In any case, if Afghanistan is an independent and sovereign country, who the hell is Pak to raise objections? the answer is simple - Pak wants its own proxy, the Taliban which was ousted by US-led forces to seize control of the country. Why don’t you accuse RAW of fomenting unrest throughout Pakistan? Pakistan started the fire of terrorism to be-stabilize India. Now the same fire is threatening to engulf Pak itself. That is the reason why experts state that Pak is facing an existential threat. If, after being in West, you have not appreciated this aspect, then it is your knowledge that is limited or you have chosen of your own volition to be ignorant.

It is disingenuous of you to talk about 'a bunch of Hindu fanatics'. Know anything about the background of people like Bal Thakeray? Comment: If millions of Hindus and the entire Jewish nation are fanatical, then less said the better about the followers of Islam. Please remember in the 60s and 70s, Bal Thakarey had nothing against the Muslims. There are a number of Muslims who are members of his party. He is a reactionary force in Indian politics. So much for your knowledge.

As my article explains, the TTP was the creation of CIA and the Americans protected Baitullah Mehsood for a long time. He was eliminated when the ISI exposed the web of intrigue involving TTP, CIA and RAW. Comment: Do please write something like Imp. Note: “History according to Pakistan”. If RAW was so effective, the terrorists who perpetrated Kandahar, 26/11 and the myriad terror attacks would have been dead. Of course, the Pak version is that entire 26/11 was orchestrated to kill Karkare. Those who subscribe to this view certainly need psychiatric assistance.

If the Indian public opinion is as you describe, then that is simply a reflection of the false propaganda against Pakistan and the poor quality of information available in India. Firstly, India is not under military dictatorship nor is it being ruled by the military through proxies or puppets as it happens in Pakistan. Our media is not under any restraint or censorship. You may be under this illusion that Indians, Americans and the Westerners may be ignorant fools and don’t quite see the Pak version of history which is nothing but ISI propaganda. Your military is fully talibanised and carries out selective operations against groups which act against Pak interests. Why does not Pak take action against Dawood Ibrahim (his presence is even denied in Pakistan), Masood Azhar (JeM), the man who was released as part of swap in Kandahar? Why does Pak refer to Haqqani network who with active ISI support carried out the bombings of the Indian Embassy at Kabul in 2008? You have no answers and accuse me of being ignorant and prejudiced? This is nothing but bull shit.

Your last paragraph is based on an outright lie: "It is Pak policy to carry on exporting terror to India and the world". It is the policy neither of the current government nor of Pakistan's army under General Kayani. It seems an impossible task to have a sensible discussion with a man as prejudiced as you are. Comment: Plain Paki denial.

Tailpiece: Gen Kayani gets extension. Should have read, that he extended his tenure. Isn't it?

To your visitor from India an atrocity is to be condemned only when it is committed by someone connected with Pakistan. When Indians or Israelis commit atrocities they must be defended! This Indian believes in “my country right or wrong” which, as you said above, can mean following an inhuman policy agreed by a group of unprincipled politicians in power.

When rogue elements of Pakistan’s army killed fellow Pakistanis in the East wing of the country, India sent money, weapons and men to help the Mukti Bahini to mercilessly kill non-Bengalis. This Indian can see the first kind of killings clearly but he is blind to Mukti Bahini’s massacres and to India’s intervention in East Pakistan. His eyes fail him again when it comes to witnessing the genocide going on in Kashmir and Palestine.

India had a powerful military and it succeeded in East Pakistan while Pakistan tried and failed in Kashmir because it was militarily weak. The only just solution to the Kashmir issue is to let the Kashmiris decide for themselves - this is what they had been promised by India through the UN resolutions.

You are right, this particular gentleman is only interested in political point scoring and poking fun at Pakistan. He calls us Pakistanis “Pakis”, which is used as an abusive term in the West. Such hate-filled individuals exist everywhere – India does not have a monopoly of them.

While we Pakistanis criticise prominent individuals occupying influential positions, as well as our institutions and their policies – government, army, secret agencies, etc - such openness seems to be alien to Indians. The Indians may criticise certain individuals but it is rare for them to own up to any wickedness in their official policies.

Since 9/11, history as we have always understood it, is dead. The USA’s new game is to hide reality under a cloak of illusion through a series of “false flag” operations, that is, carrying out atrocities and blaming them on people who have nothing to do with them. In this evil endeavour the USA appears to have found willing partners in the shape of India and Israel.

I am afraid your attempt to put on a 'Muslim' mask has sadly failed. No Muslim would ever have a name like "Saddiq". Sorry, mate, better luck next time!

I assume you are a Hindu this time - the Jews appear to be cleverer.

You should know that we are NOT discussing the identity of Kassab but his presence as a WITNESS in the Pakistani court that has been trying Saeed, Lakhvi, etc. If India really believes that those it has accused were behind the Mumbai massacre, then it MUST produce Kassab as a witness because he is the one who has allegedly implicated Saeed, Lakhvi, etc.

The blogger needs to preach to fellow Pakis about openness and wickedness of the Pak military establishment. India is neither theocratic nor ruled by a military dictator by proxy. Its democratic institutions are sound and there is an informed public opinion. The impression which is sought to be given through these blogs is that Pak is filled with saints and Satan India is haunting them. (it is the other way round, in fact). Frankly, there needs to be some limit to even insanity and distortion. Whoever, Moin Sadiq is, he is right and needs to be commended for his frank views. And as expected, the blogger has questioned his Islamic credentials, being bothered more about the faith rather than the openness of his comments.

Please have alook at the recent reports of Pak involvedment in the bombing of the Indian embassy at Kabul. http://news.rediff.com/report/2010/jul/26/leak-blows-lid-off-isi-role-in-kabul-embassy-attack.htm This is the reality and your projection of Pak is the illusion, Mr. Blogger. And talking about hatred. If 10 Indians would have walked into Karachi and spread mayhem like your breathren did in Mumbai on 26/11, just would like to know what reaction could India have expected from Pak?

Want to read some more on Paki saints, the Pak Taliban?http://news.rediff.com/special/2010/jul/26/three-thousand-terrorists-for-india-battle-pak-taliban.htm

Of course, all these reports would be dubbed by this blogger as Indian propaganda to defame poor Pak. Ain't it, Mr. Blogger?

There are two widely used Muslim names, 'Sadiq' or 'Siddique'. I hadn't come across the spelling that you use for your name. Sorry.

I know very little about Mr Zaid Hamid. From what little I know, he seems to me to be a pretty crazy sort of person. As I say, I do not know enough about him to say anything more and I do not think he is important enough for me to spend time googling over him.

As far as ISI is concerned I think it needs to be cleaned up. At the moment it is a hideous image of CIA/Mossad/RAW and I do feel ashamed of some of its activities. You will find a critical blog post here:

http://sakibahmad.blogspot.com/2010/02/case-of-missing-persons.html

If you are really from Azad Kashmir then do you not realise that you are doing your cause a great disservice by concentrating your criticism on ISI while letting the devilish CIA/Mossad/RAW escape your wrath? If you are ignorant of the history of these bodies, I suggest you spend a little of your valuable time researching their histories.

Moin, just ignore that retort. No Paki likes condemnation of ISI. And the history that the blogger is referring to, is history according to Pakistan and its instrumentality, the ISI.

The blogger after all is human having not come across the name Sadiqq. After all he is ignorant about somethings.

The blogger can spend the rest of his life reading the expose on Pak by Wikileaks. The ISI's game is now known to the whole world. The blogger who believes anything that is available in public domain, will hopefuly be convinced about ISI's complicity in terrorism.

These are unverifiable leaks, based entirely on field reports filed by a variety of operatives in Afghanistan, mostly belonging to the Pakistan-hating Northern Alliance. Out of the 92,000 leaked documents, only 180 contain ISI references and of these only 30 mention the ISI in negative terms regarding Taliban-supporting activities.

Most of these reports have a disclaimer by the author at the end where the source is referred to simply as an “informant” and it is stated that this source was either not reliable or working only for monetary gains for either the Afghan intelligence, Indians or Afghan warlords! It follows that, to make a quick buck, the informants would say anything that the Northern Alliance and the Indians wanted to hear [QUESTION: what is India up to in Afghanistan?]. Where the ISI is mentioned, it also states in the disclaimer that the information cannot be verified and therefore cannot be “used to make policies”. All this is on the website!

The CIA has probably decided to target the ISI once again because of the anti-war clamour within the US. The US and NATO have as good as lost the war in Afghanistan and bad intelligence is one of the causes. So, looking for a scapegoat, it is convenient to blame it all on the ISI. The timing of the “leaks” is not without reason.

The crazy reporting in the USA press - the British press has been quite responsible - may make a typical American think that the failures of the CIA and of the US and NATO armies are all down to the ISI! If the ISI were really so effective and powerful, India’s occupation of Kashmir would have ended long ago and Afghanistan would have a government friendly to Pakistan!

Despite repeated warnings our visitor from across the border does not desist from using abusive words. My Jewish friend, you are welcome to present your point of view but do so in a civil manner: argue your case and provide supporting evidence but, please, NO ABUSE.

I have deleted your last post as a warning. I want this space to remain free for people to express their views. DO NOT FORCE ME TO INTRODUCE A POLICY OF MODERATING COMMENTS.

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Coming from the East and living in the West, I now belong to neither. Everywhere I have observed so much intolerance and an inability to understand each other's point of view that I have come to consider 'nationalism' as an evil. I perceive divisions of East and West as artificial because they create needless strife and intolerance in the world. The whole human race ought to live in harmony, sharing knowledge and experiences while avoiding harmful nationalism. Knowledge and wisdom, whether of the East or the West, are my heritage as a human being.
As a ‘citizen of the world’ I see myself as a tolerant Muslim in accordance with Quranic precepts. I have learnt much from exposure to western knowledge and culture, which has - surprisingly? - strengthened my own roots in Pakistani culture and Urdu, the language of Iqbal and Ghalib.
On Twitter: @RealandIllusory